Chronic facial pain in the female patient: treatment updates.

Over the past decade, gender-related differences in pain and analgesia have been examined in experimental settings with conflicting evidence on whether men and women differ in their response to pain. New advances in research have begun to investigate the influence of genetic factors in moderating sex differences in analgesic response. This article provides oral and maxillofacial surgeons with evidence-based data on the issues of chronic pain between the sexes to suggest alternative approaches to the management of pain in their male and female patients.